And her topic Saturday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m. is a timely one: "The Bins & Outs of Winter Composting." (Yes, I just tried to stagger out through the snow to my winter bin.)

Colleen also will talk about gardening for the birds Jan. 30 at noon. (here's a link to the story The Courant's Crystal Maldonado wrote about Colleen and her book, "Mentors in the Garden of Life," last fall.)

The home show runs Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the arena at Harbor Yard, 600 Main St., Bridgeport, with more than 100 displays and experts on fix-up, makeover and renovation projects. It also includes seminars on such topics such as tile and grout trends, floral arranging and energy efficiency.

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http://blogs.courant.com/connecticut-homes-gardening/2010/12/a-zeroenergy-house-plus-some-j.htmlArchitectureEnergy EfficiencyTue, 14 Dec 2010 17:56:12 -0500Guest Post: Getting Your Home Ready For The ColdOh, the weather outside is frightful, but your home can still be delightful -- so says interior designer Sharon McCormick of Durham in this guest post.

Getting Your Home Ready for the Cold

Lampel Photography

This L-shaped sectional, with its soft chenille fabric, creates an intimate seating area for enjoying the warmth of a fire on a cold winter's evening. The owner crafted the award-winning quilt on display, which contributes greatly to the cozy ambiance.

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful."

But your home can still be delightful... if you properly prepare it for winter. The drop in temperature means that your home requires extra maintenance.

Here is what you need to consider to keep your house in great shape and feeling cozy.

Your fireplace

Call a chimney sweep to clean and inspect the fireplace and chimney. If you use your fireplace often, the inside of the chimney will build up with a highly flammable substance called creosote, which can cause a chimney fire.

Make sure the chimney is capped with screening to keep out unwanted pests.

Consider converting a log-burning fireplace to gas. Vent-free systems, which don't require a chimney, flue, or outside exhaust, are relatively inexpensive to operate. They warm the room efficiently and meet national standards for indoor air quality.

Your windows

Get out your glass replacements from storage, and switch out the summer screens.

Open shades, blinds, and draperies during the day to let warm sunlight in, but close them at night to keep the warmth from drifting back out.

Choose energy-efficient window coverings (ones with high "R-values") to keep your heat inside. In colder months, indoor heat moves towards and escapes through windows, but the right window treatment will decrease this heat loss - helping you save on energy costs while making the room more comfortable.

Eliminate air leakage by caulking or weather-stripping.

Your furniture

Rearrange furniture for a cozier mood. Move pieces closer towards the fireplace, and make sure they are arranged in L- and V-shapes for intimate conversations and snuggling.

Add more textures to the sofas. Soft chenille and fleece throws create a warm mood, and are functional, too.

Increase the "comfy factor" with colorful pillows. Comfortable layers of pillows feel good and make a room look more inviting.

Your accessories

Add more. Although a sparse space can look clean and sleek, it can also feel cold, especially in the winter. This is the time to bring out your collections, create vignettes, and have fun with more trinkets.

The wood in this log home begins to set the scene, but the addition of the copper ceiling completes the warm feeling in this powder room. Collections on display and a glowing lamp add the finishing touches.

Call 860-693-4813, or go to www.pace-cleanenergy.org. Or as PACE urges, "Come drum and sing and dance and play for sanity!"

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http://blogs.courant.com/connecticut-homes-gardening/2010/11/a-passion-for-clean-safe-energ.htmlEcologyEnergy EfficiencyEnvironmental SafetyThu, 18 Nov 2010 13:57:43 -0500Plugged In, As Much As Ever: Today's VampiresDishwasters use 45 percent less energy than they did two decades ago, and refrigerators use 51 percent less.

But Americans are still using the same amount of energy per-capita in their homes as they did in 1971, according to David Fahrenthold's story Thursday in the Washington Post.

Stacked against bigger houses to heat and cool, flat-screen TVs and all those power-sucking electronic gadgets, the energy-efficient advances in home appliances has just been a wash.